Trondheim Voices + Asle Karlstad – Rooms & Rituals

Even though it’s located in the middle of Norway, not even in the upper north, I always associate Trondheimwith a faraway distant city, somewhere beyond the end of the earth. A strange, almost imaginary place, one that you’re not very likely to visit soon but for that reason also has a strange attraction. That description somehow also fits the Trondheim Voiceschoir, a pool of (up to) 10 female singers performing choral works that seem to have originated from previously unknown parts of the world.

‘These voices are like no choir you ever heard. They can form pale clouds of sound, or pools of glowing light, or bright shafts of pure sound. Phrases can soar before suddenly reversing direction and travelling backwards, but along a different tangent.’

(While the ‘no choir you ever heard’ will probably be true for most listeners, it is only partly true: the music on this album somewhat reminded me of the work of Meredith Monk, especially her 1979 album Dolmen Music)

Most of Trondheim Voice‘s music is improvised, but their performances can also include composed or traditional material. Atmosphere can shift from soothing angelic to devilishly scary within a few seconds.
Their performances are often site-specific, with the singers walking around the area carrying Maccatrols: small wireless boxes, designed by sound designers Asle Karstad and Arnvid Lau Karstad, featuring controls that enable each one to modify her voice with various effects.
The voices are the Maccatrols’ only sound source and the manipulations are created in real-time – making the compositions even more otherworldly (or sometimes downright scarier) than they already are on their own.

Experiencing a Trondheim Voices & Asle Karstad performance in the right environment will probably be an unforgettable experience. That may be reason enough to travel to Trondheim somewhere in the future. But until that happens, this album will do fine as a substitute for a live performance: the pieces are taken from several different performances. It should be noted that all these pieces are recorded live without overdubs!
Definitely one of the most exciting and unexpected listening experiences I heard in a long time!

(Warning: some parts of the album, as well as the Live Impro #1 video above, may not be suitable to listen shortly before sleep time.)

Jóhann Jóhannsson * Sven Helbig

Ever since his debut release Englabörn in 2002, Jóhann Jóhannssonhas grown into one of the biggest names in contemporary classical music. In recent years he was especially sought-after to compose movie soundtracks – a natural progression, because from the start his arrangements and compositions had that ‘cinematic’ feeling.
He was awarded a Golden Globe, Bafta ánd Oscar for the score for The Theory of Everything, and similar honors for the Sicario soundtrack.
And it is Jóhann Jóhannsson that will be composing the score for the highly anticipated Blade Runner sequel (it will be a challenging task to match the original Vangelis score)!

Orphéeis his first ‘full studio album’ (meaning: not a movie or stage production soundtrack) release in six years – since 2010’s And in the Endless Pause There Came The Sound Of Bees.Compared to his latest soundtrack (Sicario, a dark and brooding atmospheric soundtrack) it’s a remarkable return to his original form. The use of electronics and ‘number station’ samples is somewhat reminiscent of one of his most impressive albums: IBM1401, A User’s Manual.

The fifteen pieces on Orphée are relatively short, but are supposed to be listened as a cycle that “traces a path from darkness into light, inspired by the various re-tellings of the old story of the poet Orpheus – a many-layered story about death, rebirth, change and the ephemeral nature of memory.”

“The album is a reflection on change, memory, beauty and art, and ultimately celebrates the latter’s power of renewal, while acknowledging the dark paths along which it can lead the artist.”

Orphéeis performed by Jóhannsson on piano, electronics, pipe – and electric organ, accompanying Hildur Gudnadottir(cello), the American Contemporary Music Ensemble and AIR Lyndhurst String Orchestra.

The album’s closing track Orphic Hymn is a composition for choir using text from Ovid’s Metamorphoses, performed by none other and no less than Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices. A bit of a surprise, since this epilogue is quite different from all the tracks before. But, depending on taste, it may very well be the most impressive and beautiful piece of the album – ánd it’s a nice transition to continue with Sven Helbig’s album discussed below!

Promo introductions can be misleading. that’s why I usually listen to an album and only read the info afterwards. But this time, I got the introduction before I could listen to the music.
The name Sven Helbigdidn’t ring a bell with me… and introducing him as Pet Shop Boys producer didn’t help (never understood them) – and so I almost stopped reading. Some of the other artists he worked for – Rammstein, Snoop Dogg among them – proved he was a very versatile producer, but made me doubt this release would be an ‘ambientblog’ thing (whatever that may be).

But there was something in the description that cought my interest too: a neo-classical/electronica album, performed by Vocalconsort Berlinconducted by Kristjan Järvi, “blending delicate choral passages above pulsating synthesizers”?I found out that Helbignot only had a lot of experience in popular music, but has firm roots in classical music too: a joint founder of the Dresdner Sinfoniker, the first European orchestra strictly performing contemporary classical music.
In 2013, Deutsche Grammophon released his Pocket Symphonies (which, by the way, is followed up with Pocket Symphonies Electronica this year).

First and foremost, I Eat The Sun And I Drink The Rain is a choral album. There are ten relatively short pieces, flawlessly performed by Vocalconsort Berlin.There are no other instruments apart from accompaniment of synthesizer, adding some subtle ‘dubby’ production effects. Upon reading ‘pulsating synthesizers’ you might expect the synths playing a leading role but in fact it is not: the choir is definitely the main performer here! The electronics serve to support the choir and draw the connection between ‘classical’ and ‘contemporary’. But it dóes make a difference, especially in the first tracks on the album and in the closing track Ich Geh Dir Nach.

The compositions are different from other ‘contemporary classical’ music because they are more rooted in the classical choral tradition than in the usual melancholic neo-romantic style. For most listeners this will feel like a ‘real’ classical music album (apart from the occasional electronic enhancements).
But that, of course, is just labelling.
Play Jóhann Jóhannsson’s Orphée (which ends with the choral Orphic Hymn) first, and then add Helbig‘salbum to the same playlist. The transition will be hardly noticeable… but will lead you into new and (perhaps) hitherto uncovered territories!